


I'm here

by teej_318



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling, Fear of loss, Friendship, Hugging, Joyce is a caring Mom, M/M, Mike just needs a hug, Nightmare, PTSD, The rest of the party is mentioned - Freeform, Will is a good Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 08:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18495442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: After the events of the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer, Mike has been having a recurring nightmare of Will being taken away from him again. Every time, he fails to reach Will and every time he wakes up from the dream, he panics, thinking Will has really been taken. During a sleepover at Will's house, Mike worries about having another one of his nightmares...





	I'm here

Mike woke with a start, breathing heavily and sweating. He sat up in bed, panting as he remembered he had _that_ dream again. Though the setting usually changed, the topic was always the same: Will was being taken away and there was nothing that Mike could do to stop it. It was like losing Will to the Upside Down all over again and the nightmare always left him feeling shaky and on edge, even though he knew it wasn't true. Just the thought, the idea, of Will being taken away from him again, even if it wasn't by a demogorgen or a Mind Flayer, terrified Mike.

He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. After several moments, he felt his heart rate lower to its normal speed. He relaxed his shoulders, which had been scrunched up ever since the nightmare woke him up and he unclenched his jaw, releasing most of the tension he was feeling. Mike glanced over at his nightstand, where his clock showed him it was 6:58. He groaned slightly. There was no point in going back to sleep when his alarm was going off in seven minutes anyway, so he shoved the blankets off and stood up, stretching.

Mike stumbled through his room, grabbing some fresh clothes out of his closet and tossed them onto his bed, ready to pick them up once he was cleaned off. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He made sure the temperature was as cool as he could tolerate before he removed his clothes and stepped inside.

Once underneath the cool stream of water, Mike finally cooled off from the dream. He always woke up sweating when these dreams occurred and his adrenaline levels always seemed high right after; he was always trying to chase whatever person or entity was taking Will from him, but it was always to no avail.

Mike let the water fall over his body before he lathered up some shampoo and massaged his scalp. He hadn't noticed that his head had been aching until his hands started to soothe it. He ran his hands through his head several times as he worked to make sure his hair was clean; he was staying the night at Will's that night and he didn't want his hair to be messy when he was hanging out with his best friend. Not that Will would care or anything, but Mike liked their sleepovers, the ones where it was just the two of them, to be perfect.

After his hair was lathered in soap and his headache gone, Mike washed the shampoo off, rinsing his hair as gently as he could. He then cleaned the rest of his body as quickly as he could. The water's cool temperature was starting to get to him and he knew he would freeze if he stayed under the water much longer. Within moments all of the soap and shampoo had washed off of him and he turned off the water.

Mike grabbed one of the towels hanging on the rack and dried his face first. As he stepped out of the shower, he dried his upper body and walked toward the mirror, which hadn't fogged up since he had taken a cool shower. Once he reached the sink, Mike wrapped the towel around his body and looked at himself in the mirror. His wet hair certainly made for a rather interesting look, but he was relieved to see that his face looked normal; it didn't look like he had been woken up in terror. Mike sighed with relief.

"Come on, Mike" he said quietly. "You've got this."

\--

As soon as his put his bike away in the bike rack, Mike walked over to Will, who was waiting for him by the entrance to the school. Though he tried to hide it, Mike couldn't help but feel giddy at seeing Will in person. Even though he knew the nightmare he kept having wasn't real, every time he saw Will after one made him feel relieved. He always let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when he saw Will and today was no different.

Will waved at Mike as he approached, giving Mike a warm smile. Mike returned the grin, but felt an overwhelming urge. As soon as he reached Will, Mike pulled him into a hug. Will seemed slightly taken aback. Mike was never much of a hugger, at least in public, but Will returned the hug just as enthusiastically as he ever would. After several moments, Mike broke apart from the hug, to Will's slight disappointment.

"What was that for?" Will asked kindly as he walked with Mike into the building.

"Just glad to see you," Mike said shortly, not wanting to get into all of the details of his wake-up call. "Had a bad night."

"You okay?" Will asked, frowning.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Mike said re-assuredly. "Just a bad dream, is all. It's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? We can talk about it if it will make you feel better."

"Don't worry about me, Will," said Mike as they reached their lockers. "I'm fine, I promise."

Will nodded, but he looked as though he wanted to keep talking about what was troubling Mike. Mike hesitated, worried that Will would try to press him for more information.

"We still on for tonight?" Will asked happily.

Mike sighed briefly, grateful for the change in subject.

"Of course," he said, giving Will a smile. "I'll ride with you and Jonathan right after school."

Will smiled.

"Mom actually has a date tonight with Hopper, so it'll just be us for most of the night," said Will. "She said she might stay the night with him, and I know Jonathan is taking Nancy out as soon as he drops us off. Mom's gonna order pizza before she leaves, but then it'll just be us."

"That sounds like fun," Mike said as he closed his locker door and followed Will to their first class of the day. "I can't remember the last time we had a sleepover just ourselves."

"It's been too long," Will said. "I'm really glad you're coming over tonight, Mike. We can stay up late watching all of the Star Wars movies and eating pizza and then we can sleep in tomorrow and just hang out all day."

"I'd like that, Will," said Mike, smiling as he sat down. Will sat down and front of him and turned to open his notebook, leaving Mike to face his back. Mike shut his eyes for a moment, hoping to himself that the nightmare wouldn't repeat itself that night, not when he wanted to spend time with Will.

\--

"Thanks for having me over, Mrs. Byers, and for ordering pizza for us tonight," said Mike as he set down his bag next to the front door and hugged Joyce.

"Oh, it's nothing, honey. I'm just glad you and Will can spend some time together. And for the last time, call me Joyce."

"I don't think I could ever do that," said Mike with a grin.

Joyce chuckled. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Will was out of earshot before she lowered her voice and whispered to Mike.

"I wrote down Hopper's number next to the phone. If he has any episodes or anything like that, you call me first, okay?"

Mike nodded at her.

"Just promise me you'll be here with him all night, honey. Please."

"I'm not leaving his side, I promise. I'll stay with him all night."

Joyce smiled.

"Thanks," she whispered before she stood up straight again and Will walked toward them.

"That pizza smells amazing, Mom. I can't wait to jump right in and start eating!"

"Well, you've got your priorities right, Will!" Joyce said playfully as she ruffled Will's hair. "Now, listen, I don't want you boys staying up too late. I know it's a Friday night and all, but don't stay up so late that you don't get to enjoy your Saturday!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Will, rolling his eyes slightly. "We know, Mom."

"Don't blame me if you're super tired tomorrow," Joyce said as she gave Will a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you boys around lunchtime tomorrow. Call me at Hopper's if you need anything, or call Jonathan at the Wheeler's. You boys have fun tonight!"

"Bye, Mom!" Will said as Joyce grabbed her keys and walked toward the door.

"Bye!" Mike echoed.

"See you boys tomorrow!" Joyce said as she walked through the front door and shut it, locking it from the outside.

Will turned to Mike, beaming.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," he said excitedly. "Let's get some food and we'll put in _A New Hope_."

"Okay," said Mike, grinning at Will's enthusiasm. He wished he could get as excited as Will, but the thought of waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat with Will nearby terrified Mike. Shaking his head slightly, he followed Will into the kitchen and prepared himself a plate.

Within moments, both of the boys were sitting on the couch with their plates as Will pressed play on the remote to let the movie begin. As soon as the words " _A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away_..." appeared on the screen, the boys settled into the couch, eating their pizza happily. By the time C-3P0 and R2-D2 had taken off from Princess Leia's ship to Tatooine below, their plates had been cleared.

Will stood up and walked over to Mike, holding out his hand for his plate. Mike handed it to Will, grinning at him and Will walked back into the kitchen and threw the plates into the trash. He walked back into the living room and stood over Mike's head.

"I'm gonna go get a blanket. I'm feeling kinda chilly."

"No worries," said Mike absentmindedly.

Mike returned his focus to the movie, grateful that Will had suggested getting a blanket rather than him. He didn't know why, but showing weakness or vulnerability to Will during a sleepover felt wrong to him.

Will returned with a blanket and set it down on the couch before joining Mike again. He sat down on the couch, spreading out the blanket so it would cover both of them equally. Because the blanket was shorter than the couch, Will was forced to sit closer to Mike in order not to hog all of the blanket. Mike didn't mind; being close to Will only helped reassure him that maybe he wouldn't have another nightmare.

About halfway through _Empire Strikes Back_ , when Luke was conducting his Jedi training with Yoda on Dagobah, Mike was taken aback when he felt something on his shoulder. He nearly jumped back in shock when he realized that Will had laid his head down on his shoulder, trying to rest.

"Sorry," Will said, blushing profusely as he sat up and made to scurry away from Mike. "I'm used to sitting on the couch with Mom and I usually rest my head on her shoulder and..."

"Will, it's okay," Mike said gently, giving his best friend a smile. "I don't mind. It's actually kind of nice. It reminds me that you're here."

"Are you sure? I don't want it to be weird for you or anything, so I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable."

"It doesn't, I promise," Mike said.

Will nodded, but still looked at Mike hesitantly before he relaxed his posture again and laid his head on Mike's shoulder as the movie continued. Mike felt warmth spreading through his body. Maybe it was because he felt a connection, maybe it was because it helped him know that he wasn't alone, or maybe just because it was Will. Whatever it was, Mike was happy that it made him feel safe. Will didn't move his head at all, except for when he stood up to put in the tape for _Return of the Jedi_ before he laid his head back on Mike again, and Mike didn't have a care in the world.

Finally, Return of the Jedi ended and it was nearing midnight. Both boys stood up from the couch and stretched, yawning loudly.

"That was fun," said Will in a sleepy voice. "I'm glad we were able to stay awake for all three movies."

"Speak for yourself. I fell asleep when Obi-Wan was telling Luke that Leia is his sister, then I woke back up when they reached Endor."

"And you didn't snore?" Will teased with a grin. "Guess I got lucky then!"

"Oh shut up and let's go to bed," said Mike. He followed Will into his bedroom, grabbing his bag by the front door and dragging it along with him. Once in Will's room, he opened the bag and pulled out his sleeping bag, smoothing it out as Will changed into his pajamas.

As Will went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, Mike changed into his pajamas, which involved him only changing into pajama bottoms, but leaving his t-shirt on. He joined Will in the bathroom and together they brushed their teeth. Once finished, Mike walked around the house, making sure all of the lights were off and the doors were locked as Will returned to his bedroom and turned on the nightlight that sat near the door. Ever since the events of the Upside Down the last two years, having a nightlight acted as a security guard for Will and allowed him to go to sleep at night. Mike didn't mind it. In fact, he hoped the light would be good for him in case he woke up in a few hours.

Will hopped onto his bed and pulled the covers back and crawled into them. Mike made sure his sleeping bag was still unrolled and he rearranged his borrowed pillow from Jonathan's room into a comfortable position. Will looked down at Mike as Mike crawled into his sleeping bag, yawning.

"You know, you can sleep on Jonathan's or Mom's bed," Will said. "You don't have to sleep on the floor."

"Yeah, but then it wouldn't be a real sleepover," said Mike.

"Mike..."

"Oh come on, Will, you know you won't be able to convince me that I should go sleep in your brother's room or your mom's. Besides, it wouldn't feel right sleeping at your house and not being in your room. That's our thing at these sleepovers."

"Oh, all right," Will said as he laid his head down on his pillow. "Well, don't blame me when you have a bad back before you're 20."

"Yeah, yeah," said Mike waving his hand dismissively as he laid down. "Good night, Will."

"Night, Mike."

\--

_"No, Will! Don't go!"_

_Mike ran toward Will as fast as his legs would carry him. Will was struggling against whatever it was that was taking him away, screaming Mike's name loudly._

_"I'm coming, Will! Don't give up!"_

_Will kept struggling and got further and further away from Mike, who tried to run faster, but found himself losing his energy._

_"No, Will! WILL!"_

_"Mike...Mike..." came another voice. It was faint but it was just enough for Mike to hear._

_"WILL! WILL!"_

_"I'm here, Mike, I'm here..." said the voice._

_"Come back to me! Don't leave me!"_

_"Here.....I'm here!"_

_"NO!"_

_Mike could feel hands on his shoulders and he tried to shake them off, not wanting to be taken away unless he was being taken to Will._

_"No, I won't go with you, I have to get to Will!"_

_The invisible hands shook Mike a little harder, but they were gentle, as he trying to convince him they were there. Instead, Mike fought the hands, trying to push them off._

_"No, I need to get to Will!"_

_"I'm here, Mike. It's Will."_

_"WILL!"_

Mike sat up, taking a deep breath, not knowing he had been holding it in as he fought off the invisible hands. He was covered in sweat again and it took a moment for him to recognize his surroundings. That's when he noticed the hands that were on his shoulders. Mike looked up and Will was looking at him with worry in his eyes.

"Hey," said Will weakly trying to give Mike a smile.

Mike burst into tears. His breathing was out of control and his body started to shake violently. Will, shocked by this outburst, helped Mike stand up and guided Mike to his bed, where he sat down with him. As soon as he was sitting, Mike wrapped his arms around Will's neck and sobbed onto his shoulder.

"Shhh, Mike, it's okay," Will whispered as he held onto Mike as tightly as he could, wanting to reassure his friend that he was not alone. "I'm here, Mike. I'm here."

Will rubbed circles on Mike's back as Mike continued to sob onto his shoulder. He whispered words of encouragement into Mike's ear. Gradually, Mike's breathing returned to normal and his heart rate resumed its normal pace. After several minutes, Mike stopped crying and broke apart the hug. Will grabbed onto both of Mike's wrists.

"What happened, Mikey?" Will asked, employing the old childhood nickname that only he was allowed to call Mike.

"I thought I had lost you again," Mike replied.

"Lost me?"

Mike nodded.

"To the Upside Down or to I don't know who or what. I keep having the same dream over and over. It changes a little bit every time, but in every dream, I see you getting taken away and I try to stop it, but I fail every time."

"Oh, Mike," Will said as he pulled Mike into another hug. He had one hand wrapped around Mike's back while the other one rested on the back of Mike's head. "You will never lose me again, I promise."

"I hope to god you're right," Mike said. "I'm sorry for waking you and scaring you if I did."

"You don't have to apologize," Will said firmly as he broke apart the hug so he could look Mike in the eyes.

"But I do, Will. You went through so many worse things than I did when all of that happened. I keep having this stupid dream over and over again, but I don't feel like I deserve to talk to you or anyone else about it. You've been through so much already, Will. You don't need me burdening you with more."

Will took several deep breaths before responding.

"You are never a burden to me, Mike. That, I can promise you. And you can talk to me about anything, you know that. Even if this is just some dream, it's reminding you of something traumatic that happened to you, and that's something we have to talk about."

"But you've had it so much worse than I did!" Mike exclaimed. "You were kidnapped by the demogorgen and held in that shithole for a week, you were the one targeted by the Mind Flayer and possessed by it. You went through so much, Will. Why should you have to deal with anyone else's suffering?"

"Because I know how you feel, Mike," Will said simply. "I know what it feels like when you're all alone in your room and you wake up suddenly, breathing hard and sweating. I know all about that, Mike. I have dreams about it all the time. I know you say I went through a lot, but you did, too, Mike. We all went through it together: you, me, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Eleven, Mom, Jonathan, Hopper, Nancy, all of us. We all have to talk about what happened from time-to-time, even if we'd rather forget it. After all, nobody else can understand what happened other than us."

Mike considered Will for a few moments before he nodded and pulled Will into another hug.

"Thank you for understanding," he whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"It's like you said, if we go crazy, then we go crazy together, right?"

Mike chuckled.

"Right."

Will broke the hug apart again, but kept his face close to Mike's.

"Are you okay now?"

Mike nodded.

"Do you want to go back to sleep in your sleeping bag?"

Mike hesitated, but Will saw the answer dash across Mike's face and nodded.

"Then you can sleep up here," Will said, laying down on the bed and scooting over so Mike could have room on one side of it.

"Are you sure, Will?"

"There's plenty of room," Will said, nodding. "Besides, sometimes you just need somebody sleeping next to you to know that you're not alone."

"Okay," said Mike, laying down on the bed next to Will. Will gave Mike a smile as he adjusted his blankets so that Mike could be under them too. Once he was done, Will laid back down and faced Mike, their faces just millimeters apart. Will reached out and grabbed one of Mike's hands with his own and held it close to him.

"You feel this?" he asked. Mike nodded at him. "I won't let go, Mike. This way you know that I'm here if you have another bad dream, okay?"

"Okay," Mike said. "Thank you for being with me."

"It's what friends are for," Will said as the both of them closed their eyes. Will pulled Mike a little closer and wrapped his free arm around him, pulling Mike closer if that were possible. Mike nuzzled his face into Will's chest, feeling safer than he had in weeks while in bed.

"Good night, Mike," Will whispered. "I'll be here all night."

Mike breathed out a sigh of relief and could have sworn he felt Will's lips brush across the top of his forehead briefly as if Will were convincing him that he wasn't going to leave. The feeling passed in an instant, but it left Mike feeling warm and cozy, impossible comfortable.

"Good night, Will."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little one-shot! I've always enjoyed reading stories about Mike comforting Will after a nightmare about the events of the Upside Down, but I decided to change it up in this story and let Will be the one who comforts Mike. After all, they're both dealing with the events in their own way and it only makes sense that Mike is suffering too, even if he, like he says, didn't go through as much as Will. Trauma is still trauma.
> 
> Anyway, feel free to follow me on Tumblr: @wackywriterwhowriteswhenever. I'll post links to my other Stranger Things fics I've written on another website and you can read those as well.


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